In the last installment of this story, our anxious couple was waiting in a room in an orphanage in Somovo, Russia, waiting to meet their new little boy!

But wait - I just remembered a part of the story that I'd forgotten. We won't get to meet little Yuri (that was Little J's Russian name) yet.

After we visited with the social worker we were then taken to see the orphanage doctor.

I don't know who I had expected as the orphanage doctor - a man? an older woman? but the doctor who we met was very young - probably in her mid 20s - and the first Russian person who we'd met who actually seemed sweet to us. It's hard to explain, and I don't want to characterize Russian people as mean or anything, but there's a certain natural brusqueness to them. My husband and I often said to each other that it sounded like our translator and our driver were arguing when they spoke when really they were having a normal conversation.

But this doctor was a bit more soft spoken and you could tell, also soft hearted. The first thing she told us was that Yuri was a favorite of hers and of all the workers at the orphanage. She said he was a good boy, a smart boy, anda loving boy. That made us really happy. Then she read us the medical report we'd been sent along with our referral and we had a chance to ask questions. I had about a million questions (here is a wonderful, thorough list that you can use for ideas) and she patiently answered them all.

At this point we really wanted to meet him so we were probably not as thorough as we should have been.

So it was then that they took us to the orphanage playroom. We waited...


Part 1 of our story is here.
Part 2 is here.
Part 3 is here.
Part 4 is here.
Part 5 is here.
Part 6 is here.
Part 7 is here. "The Train to Voronezh"
Part 8 is here.
Part 9 is here. "The Orphanage"
Part 10 is here. "Voronezh Regional Specialized Children's Home"
This is part 11.
Part 12 is here. "Yuri!"